Quote of the day

Dr. Leo Spaceman: I have the results of your DNA Test. Now, I am very serious about doctor/patient confidentiality, so I am gonna' have to ask that all four of us keep this to ourselves.

 

 

 

 

 

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Trader Joe's in Fort Worth: Worth the hype?

FORT WORTH - We are a little less than one month away from Trader Joe's opening in Fort Worth, down the street from a Tom Thumb and not too far from Central Market. Both of those chains have to be thrilled.

Click here for Trader Joe's website. Located at 2711 South Hulen Street in Fort Worth, it is scheduled to open June 15; this will be the third store in the greater FW-d.

The arrival of In and Out Burger last year was more exciting, but a Trader Joe's in F-Dub is regarded as an essential to any city. The Trader Joe's stamp of approval is nice. 

What was at one time a quaint little store out of Los Angeles has become a nationwide monster that carries a smaller line of its own products that are enviro-friendly.

Is it worth the hype? No, but nothing is ... save for The Expendables 2.

Some of the food, wines and coffees offered at Trader Joe's are worth a seperate trip, but I can't envision completing a week's worth of grocery shopping here, unless one of my hobbies was burning giant piles of cash. 

 

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Cowboys CB Mike Jenkins wants to be traded, huh? Tough

Per a source that told Fort Worth Star-Telegram Dallas Cowboys media czar Clarence E. Hill Jr., Mike Jenkins wants to be traded.

Who cares? Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has said Jenkins is important to the team's plans for 2012 season, and he actually may be telling the truth.

A former first round pick out of South Florida, Jenkins has seen the writing on the wall that he is a backup. The team acquired Brandon Carr in free agency, and moved up to select LSU's Morris Claiborne in the first round of the draft.

This makes Jenkins a very expensive nickel, assuming those two guys beat him out. But Jenkins, when healthy, can play. If the Cowboys can afford him, might as well keep him. The way players get hurt these days, Jenkins could be a starter for more than half of the regular season.

Jenkins has had an uneven career with the Cowboys since he broke in in 2008. He's had some tackling issues (see his rookie ooohhhhh-laaaay against the Giants in the Meadowlands). In 2009, he was a serious playmaker with five picks. Last season, injuries limited him to 12 games.

Jenkins has been a decent pro, just not great, and likely not a first round pick. Then there are injury issues.

If Carr and Claiborne are upgrades, Jenkins will be a very expensive luxury to have. Good, or even decent, corners are hard to find. Keep them when you have them.

 

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Conflict of interest much? ESPN personality Erin Andrews dating Tony Romo's brother in law

Not that ESPN "reporter" Erin Andrews does much with the NFL - she's more of a college football/basketball personality - her newest beau will likely prevent her from being allowed to cover news about professional ball. Because ESPN would never green light such an obvious conflict of interest such as this ...

Turns out, Ms. Andrews is rather fond of Mr. Chace Crawford, who is a brother to Candice Crawford, who is married to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. Maybe, finally, both Romo and the Cowboys will get a little press coverage.

 The world renowned news source, US Weekly, is "reporting" Mr. Crawford & Ms. Andrews are an item.

In this picture Crawford looks like one of those extras from one those vampire movies. You know .... the one with the good looking cast all pretending to be angry about how hot they are. That one.

First thought about this ground-breaking story ... two words: Cradle. Robber. 

Andrews is 34, which in TV years for a female sports reporter is closer to 50 (not trying to be mean, just the truth). Crawford, who starred on the Blake Lively TV show Gossip Girl, is 26. Way to go, Erin! If you can't defeat age with surgery, do it with a young man/woman draped over your arm. 

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Keep the kids up: Yu vs. King Felix tonight in Seattle

We're not even into June - even though in Texas it feels like it - and the Seattle Mariners are just about out of the race. Actually, the Mariners are coming off of a sweep of the Rockies.

Texas is 26-16, five games up on second place Oakland, and 7.5 up on the Mariners (19-24).

Interesting stat: The Rangers are 15-7 on the road, 11-9 at home.

The Rangers return to AL West play in Seattle tonight in a game that starts way past bed time, but well worth watching:

Yu Darvish (6-1, 2.60 ERA) faces Felix Hernandez (3-3, 3.02 ERA).

This should be a big draw in Japan, and Seattle. Yu will face Ichiro in his home park for the first time, and a pitcher who has been one of the best in baseball over the past few years.

 

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November can't get here soon enough: New 007 trailer for Skyfall is out

The priorities are still Dark Knight Rises, Dark Knight Rises and Dark Knight Rises, but the new 007 movie starring Daniel Craig as James Bond in Skyfall is a close second.

Set to be released in November, Skyfall looks like another 007 Bond flick - a bit darker, meaner, slick and with Bond beating up a lot of really good thespians such as Albert Finney, Ralph Fiennes and Javier Bardem.

 Click here for the movie's website

Craig is still the best Bond there is. 

 

 

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Quote of the day

Judge Smails: Danny, I'm having a party this weekend. ....... How would you like to come over and mow my lawn?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Is Kevin Durant, not LeBron, the best player in the game?

After watching the OKC Thunder kick the defending NBA champion Mavericks to the curb in the first round of the playoffs it was quickly apparent the Thunder are all grown up.

While LeBron and DWade are getting killed nationally for their performance against the Indiana Pacers, Kevin Durant has become as clutch as any player in the league. He is a very bad, bad man.

On Saturday night in L.A. with the game tied at 98 against the Lakers, Durant calmly drilled this monster 3 against Metta World Artest to win the game.

 

Not sure if the Thunder will have enough to get past Los Spurs, but the series should be compelling.

 

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Former Grand Prairie star Kerry Wood set to retire from the Cubs

Kerry Wood will be forever remembered for his 20-strikeout performance as a rookie for the Chicago Cubs in '98, and electric stuff, but it was injuries that prevented him from becoming the celebrity ace his talent said he had.

The former star of Grand Prairie high school is scheduled to retire after a disappointing start to the season as a reliever for the Cubs.

In 8 1/3 innings this season with the Cubs, Wood had an 8.64 ERA with 11 walks and 5 stirkeouts. He will finish his career with an 86-75 record and 3.67 ERA in 13 big league seasons.

Solid. Not spectacular. And a bit too bad considering his immense talent.

Along with Mark Prior, Wood was a starter for the last good Cubs team; the one that reached the NLCS against the Marlins and led that series 3-2 before "Bartman" happened. Wood hit a home run in Game 7 of that series, but was the losing pitcher of record.

As good as Wood was, watching him retire inspires thoughts of what should have been. When Wood was right he was over powering. But he wasn't right very often, which was why he became a full-time reliever in 2006, and why he is retiring now.

 

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Have to wonder how much TCU's success factored in to the firing of SMU AD Steve Orsini

SMU may rank ahead of TCU in academic standings, but the Ponies' inability to match what their cross-town rival has done in athletics likely helped get an AD fired.

The Ponies fired AD Steve Orsini today, only a few weeks after he hired Larry Brown as its men's basketball coach.

Even though SMU has a new football stadium, a winning football team with a head coach who clearly knows what he is doing, it has not translated into the type of off-the-field success the school obviously wants after sinking so much money into the public relations tool that is college athletics.

According to this story in The SMU Daily Campus a few weeks ago, SMU's losses are staggering - around $113 million. That's a lot of green, even at SMU.

It is not uncommon for athletic departments to lose money; financial losses in the athletic department are justified as part of the public relations arm of a school. It's a risky formula, but it has worked for TCU.

TCU is enjoying a level of national notoriety in a way it never has before. The Frogs are seeing a tangible return on their investment. SMU has spent millions, but have the perception and popularity of the private school in Dallas changed much in the past decade? Maybe a little but certainly not enough to justify the expense.

Regardless of academic rankings, this power shift can't be easy to watch if you are an SMU alum or administrator. 

Baylor may not be better than SMU, but the Bears are in the Big 12.
TCU is supposed to be the poor man's SMU, but the Frogs are in the Big 12. The Frogs just announced they slold out their 30,000 season ticket allotment.

How does this happen?

As many improvements as the Ponies made under Orsini, it hasn't been enough. Everything feels like it was just a moment too late, from the hiring of June Jones to moving into a Big East Conference that now looks nothing like it did one year ago.

So now SMU fires its AD, which itself feels too late.

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